Predator and Prey
Judy Hopps darted across an open alleyway, right up to the loading bay entrance of a temporarily unused warehouse. She took a peak inside. About a dozen different animals were gathered around a table. 2 of them, a giraffe with baggy eyes and an ocelot clouded ones, were taking small capsules from a crate and selling them to the others. Judy turned around and waved to the other side of the street. Nick, and 2 other officers, a wolf and a tiger, hurried across the street. They were here on a tip from Duke Weaselton, who now served as an informant, about an illegal drug operation. It had been 2 months since Bellweather's Nighthowler plot, and already a new drug had been developed: Wyldfyre they called it, a drug containing small amounts of Nighthowler that briefly turned animals partly savage. Addicts were slightly prone to violence when using it, but, as of yet, their had been no real problems with Wyldfyre. However, recent studies had shown that prolonged and constant exposure could turn an animal savage- perhaps permanently. Judy signaled to the wolf and tiger, and they headed to the other side of building. Judy checked her belt: she had her handcuffs; she had her stun gun, armed with a single tranquilizer dart, with some extra shots tucked away in a small pouch; and, if worst came to worst, a small semi-automatic handgun, with a full clip of 16 rounds. "We're ready," Judy's police-issue walkie talkie buzzed, indicating that the wolf and tiger were in their positions at the other door, thereby sealing off any means of escape. "One my signal," replied Judy, taking out her stun gun, "Now!" She and Nick whirled around the corner. Though their small bodies didn't fill the entirety of the large doorway, anyone who wanted to get past them would have to dodge shots from their stun guns. On the other side of the room, the wolf and tiger barged through a smaller door, their stun guns also ready. All four officers simultaneously shouted, "This is ZPD! Hands in the air, now!" One of the Wyldfyre buyers, a scraggly-furred otter in a red jacket, took a look at Judy before sarcastically blurting out, "Don't tell me... the long ears of the law?" He and the rest of the delinquents laughed, and even Nick chuckled. The police officers moved in. Nick and the tiger kept a watch on the ruffians, while the wolf handcuffed and searched them, and Judy confiscated the Wyldfyre. "Here," said the tiger, seeing Judy struggling to lift the large crate in order to take it back to the car, "Let me help you with that." He holstered his stun gun and walked over to Judy. At that very moment, the prisoner the wolf was handcuffing, the ocelot, unsheathed her claws and stabbed him in the gut. Nick fired a tranquilizer dart at her, but she dodged behind the wolf, so that he was hit instead. As the wolf sunk to the ground, the tiger pulled out his stun gun on the remaining prisoners. Nick reloaded, while Judy chased after the ocelot. The cat scampered around a corner, and Judy followed. The ocelot, however, picked up a trashcan and sent it thundering towards the rabbit. Judy leapt over it with ease, took aim with her stun gun, and sent a dart towards her target. The ocelot picked up the trashcan's lid, and used it as a shield, causing the dart to get stuck in the thin sheet of metal. The ocelot tossed the lid at Judy before clumsily dashing across the street, much to the alarm of several drivers. Judy followed, leaping over the cars with her high-powered legs, continuing the chase. High above her, however, she was being silently watched by a lynx in a tattered black hoodie. He growled softly and his eyes flashed as he silently pursued her along the rooftops. ___ The ocelot looked behind her. The rabbit was nowhere in sight. She smiled as she slowed down to catch her breath. She looked at her watch. "12:27," she thought to herself. She has been chased for almost 15 minutes. The ocelot stretched, then reached into her pants pocket and pulled out a small canister of pills, crudely labeled, "wYlDfyrE". As she was undoing the lid, she felt a prick in her side. She held her head as she became drowsy. As she stumbled against a wall for support, she saw a rabbit dressed in blue walking towards her. "You are under arrest," smiled Judy, twirling her empty stun gun in her paw. The ocelot blacked out a fell into a little heap on the ground. As Judy fitted handcuffs onto the ocelot, she held her walkie talkie between her shoulder and chin, calling Nick. "This is officer Hopps, requesting pickup at Armidillo Street and 7th." "On my way, carrots," her partner's voice crackled through from the other side. "Hey, what do you say to lunch?" he asked. "Your buying," Judy replied, smiling. "Fair enough," said Nick, hanging up. Judy put away her walkie talkie and pulled out her regular iPhone. Her screensaver depicted her and Nick celebrating at Gazelle's concert after solving the Bellweather conspiracy. Suddenly, she heard heavy breathing behind her. She turned around. "Whoa-ho-ho!" she shouted, backing up against the wall. Across from her stood a massive, muscular lynx, wearing a black hoodie and dark gray pants, both of which are tattered and threadbare. His face had multiple scars running across it, and the claws on his paws were long and razor sharp. He also looked quite angry. "Uh-uhm..." Judy stammered, overwhelmed that someone so massive had simply appeared behind her, "Can I help you... sir?" "Judy Hopps..." came the reply in an angry, menacing tone. "Yeah, yeah, that's me..." said the rabbit, inching towards one side of the alley, while reloading her stun gun behind her back. "The time has come to answer for your sins..." He straightened one of his arms, and a long metal rod slid out of the sleeve and into his paw. A panic-stricken Judy quickly took aim with her stun gun, but the lynx knocked it from her fingers with a swipe from his staff. The force from the blow sent the rabbit tumbling along the ground. She got up as fast as she could and dashed around the corner. The lynx growled loudly, gripped the metal bar in his teeth, and ran after her on all fours. Judy looked behind at the massive monster pursuing her. He was gaining on her, and fast. She pulled out her handgun and her walkie talkie. ___ A fox in blue uniform sat behind the steering wheel of a ZPD police cruiser. The ZPD police cruiser sat in the middle of lunchtime traffic jam. To pass the time, the officer played Candy Crush on his iPhone. Nick paused the game and raised an eyebrow as a voice crackled through his ZPD-issue walkie talkie. "This is officer Hopps, requesting immediate backup on Armidilo Street! I repeat, I am being chased by an aggressive lynx and require immediate backup! *BANG, BANG* I REPEAT, IMMEDIATE BACKUP ON ARMIDILO- '''bzzzzzzftzzzzzz" "Carrots? Carrots!? '''Judy?!" Nick called into the phone. The only reply was static. Nick quickly flipped on the sirens. "Come on, come on!" he shouted, as the traffic cleared a path for him all too slowly. "I don't have time for this!" Then he added mentally, "She''' doesn't have time for this..." Suddenly, he saw a small opening. "''That'll have to do..." He put pedal to the metal and zipped through the small path. Metal ground and screeched as he pushed other cars out of his way. He knew he would cause thousands of dollars in damages. He knew Bogo would lecture him into next month. But he had to save Judy. His partner, his friend, his- "'''''No. Just friends," he thought. Not to say that she didn't have her charms. He liked her quick thinking, her determination, her mischievousness when it had to come out. And her eyes... her beautiful magenta eyes... He shook his head, "Focus, you idiot! You'll never see those eyes again if don't hurry." ___ Judy stared in shock, trying to process what had happened. She looked at her hand that had been holding the walkie talkie. It had a long cut running across it and was bleeding. Still, it was better off than her phone, which now laying on the ground, impaled by the metal rod which the lynx had thrown. Hearing another loud growl behind her, she saw the lynx continuing his charge towards her. He was bleeding on both shoulders now, from where Judy had shot him with bullets. It hadn't helped. Didn't even slow him down. "Desperate times call for desperate measures," she said to herself, aiming her handgun at the lynx's head. Her assailant slowed to a stop... but his violent attitude remained. "I don't want to hurt you," she said, looking him straight in the eye. "Oh, you've already done that plenty," he snarled. "This... this is about the press conference, isn't it?" Judy asked, her expression changing from tense to sorrowful. This seemed to put the lynx more at ease. "Yes. There was a full day between the time you announced that predators were going savage and that Bellwether was behind it. A lot can happen in 24 hours." "I'm sorry... truly, I am... I can't change the past, but... I can try to get justice against those who wronged you." The lynx snorted, then backed up slowly, before finally disappearing around a corner. Judy took a deep breath, then sighed with relief. She holstered her gun, then took out a handkerchief- the same one Nick had used to bandage her leg back during the chase through the museum- and wiped the blood off her paw. "Except all the animals who wronged me?" The rabbit whirled around with a start, still shocked that the lynx was able to sneak up on her. She reached for her gun again, but stopped when she saw it in the lynx's left paw. "Their all dead," he continued, looking down at her, "All of them... except for you." He threw the gun on the ground, the impact smashing it to pieces. Once again, Judy ran. No time to pull out her iPhone. No gun to defend herself with. All she could do was hope Nick was on his- Suddenly, she heard a thin wail in the distance. Could it be? She stretched her finely tuned ears towards the source of the sound. Yes, police sirens! "Nick... thank goodness..." She dropped to all fours and strained every muscle in her tiny little body. She bobbed and weaved through street traffic, making drivers panic and causing a somewhat large collision. The lynx relentlessly clambered over the mass of vehicles, eyes still on his prey. The sirens were louder now, and, as Judy bounded around a corner, she saw a full squad of police cruisers zooming down the street. Through the windshield of the foremost car, she was able to make out Nick's determined face. The lynx rounded the building, and the police cruisers skidded to a halt. Almost reflexively, Nick threw open the door and drew out his handgun. The other officers pulled out their stun guns, and Nick knew he would lose his job if he shot the lynx dead... still, he refused to let the lynx touch a hair on Judy's ears. The lynx halted, his rage building to immense levels as Judy slipped just beyond his reach. "Nick!" shouted the rabbit. "Judy!" replied her partner, relieved. "DIIIEEE!!!" screamed the lynx, picking up a sewer entrance lid with a single paw and hurling it towards the rabbit. Fortunately, he hadn't taken the time to aim, and the disc of steel thundered right past Judy. It did, however, strike her and Nick's police cruiser, impaling itself deep within the hood. Judy realized it was going to ignite, and contracted her legs in preparation for a high-powered jump. Her feet connected with ground, launching her into the air like a bullet. She tackled Nick, and they tumbled along the ground as the police cruiser exploded behind them with a thundering KRA-KOOM! Police officers rushed around them as the lynx ran off, but Nick and Judy stayed where they were, arms wrapped tightly around one another. There wasn't much that scared Judy... but if there ever was, she knew Nick would always be there for her. Nick knew there were well over a million rabbits in all of Zootopia... but only one was Judy. His Judy. "Hey, uh, love-doves?" asked a sarcastic voice from over them. They both opened their eyes and looked up into the face of ZPD's newest officer: Guillermo Gonzales, a cheetah, and probably the most annoying animal in Zootopia. "Explosions over," he said, walking away, "You can get up now." The fox and rabbit picked themselves up, blushing immensely. "Thanks for the rescue, Nick." "Right back at ya, carrots." Then, smiling, he said, "Don't ever scare me like that again. You're the reason I took up this gig, remember?" "You were scared!? I was being chased by a literally revenge-hungry lynx! I put two bullets in him, and he didn't even slow down!" she paused, and looked disturbingly down the street, to where the lynx had disappeared. "Who was 'that guy anyway?" she wondered aloud. ___ "Caesar Payne," stated Clawhauser, picking up a file folder from the inside of a drawer. Went missing a day after Bellwether's arrest. Says here he killed..." Clawhauser's eyes grew so large his cheeks looked small in comparison. "'Sixteen prey prior to his disappearance..." Judy frowned. She had felt sorry for him. But now, she realized he was a madman. A madman still very much at large... ___ "A small accident occurred today on Armadillo and St. Bernard streets," began Moosebrigde, "Reports say that ZPD officer Judy Hopes was pursued by an aggressive lynx, which resulted in a small pileup on Armadillo Street, and the temporary closing of St. Bernard. We now go to our reporter, live at the incident..." The wolf who was watching sighed, the absolute boredom almost causing him pain. He was sitting on an old, but well kept, couch, and wearing a gray tuxedo. In his left paw was a finely carved wooden cane. "Look at them all... so happy... so content... so peaceful..." he scowled and lowered his voice in disgust, "So weak. But thats the price paid for peace, isn't it?" he asked, his eyes focused on the television as a camera showed the damage caused by the exploded police cruiser, "No longer do species struggle against each other for survival... no longer is this a world where only the strongest survive. Then again," he mused, taking his eyes off the screen, "If the world has changed before... who's to say it cannot do so again?" He looked over at a female leopard, who was pouring two glasses full of red wine. She grabbed them and sat down next to the sharply dressed wolf, handing him glass. "A change like that is not so easily brought about," she replied, "We'd need power... and a whole lot of money..." "And in other news," Moosebrigde's co-anchor continued, "Warren Scotch has just announced his plans to run for assistant mayor." "Well," remarked the wolf, smiling and taking a sip of wine, "That seems as good a place as any..."